New stretch target

Thank you so much for helping us reach our target. We have a new stretch target of £700. This money will be going towards buying more oral hygiene products for the children.

Join us for the journey of smiles to

Tamil Nadu, South India!

DID YOU KNOW?

Dental caries (tooth decay) is an entirely preventable disease, yet affects more than 70% of children in South India (Saravanan et al). Access to oral healthcare services are very limited in rural villages, and decayed teeth are left untreated, causing discomfort and pain to these young children. With simple treatment and appropriate preventative care, we can bring beautiful smiles to these children in Tamil Nadu.

HELLO

We are dental students hoping to raise £500 towards our dental camp in Tamil Nadu, South India, to provide treatment and preventative care to around 1000 children, who otherwise receive no dental care. Many of these children have never seen a dentist before. We will be their first dental experience.

I'm Ashly. Although I'm from South India (Kerala), I have never experienced working in this environment and so I am really looking forward to it. This elective will bring together my love for paediatric dentistry and community dentistry. Making a difference, however small, to a child's life will definitely be an invaluable experience.

I'm Kowoon. My passion is travelling, drawing and cooking. Elective is one thing I planned as soon as I started dental school. Experiencing new culture and working in a different healthcare setting fascinates me. Helping people hands-on with the skills I have is wonderful. This will be the beginning of my lifelong dream to work in the World Health Organisation for the global oral health.

OUR PROJECT

We will be travelling with a non-profit organisation called Schoolhouse, who have been organising dental elective camps in South Asia for years. Our project is aimed at schoolchildren aged between 6-14 years. These ages are of critical stage in dentistry where the children will be changing from baby teeth to adult teeth - the preventative education we give will help them to keep their adult teeth healthy and long-lasting.

The main treatment we will be providing is called ART: Atraumatic Restorative Treatment. This is a simple yet effective technique that can be employed all over the world as it does not require electricity, running water or anaesthesia. This will not only help us to treat tooth decay in any circumstances but also provide a positive first time dental experience for the children. Positive experiences will bring positive attitude. We hope that the children will care for their oral health even after the end of the camp.

With the local mission hospital, we will also be carrying out extractions where necessary. Most importantly, we will be building a good oral hygiene foundation in these children. Preventative care is key to avoid any oral health diseases, including oral and pharyngeal cancer, which is prevalent in the older population of this region. We hope that the good oral hygiene regime will be spread across the region.

YOUR PLEDGES AND THE REWARDS

The pledges you kindly offer us will be spent for the essential elective costs as well as to buy oral hygiene products, which we plan to donate to the children. None of the expenses are funded and it is a lot of money for us as students to spend for the 2 weeks. At the same time, we want to help the children as much as possible, offering everything we can. The more you help, the more will go towards the children. Every penny you spend will add another smile to the children. Help us to build a healthy and happy experience to the children of Tamil Nadu this summer.

In return, we will be offering the following rewards:

Hand-made card - Although we would love to go and say thank you in person, this is the second best option. Our current plan is to get the children involved with this. If this does not happen, we will still send you a lovely hand-made card made by ourselves.

Small souvenir - Locally sourced small South Indian souvenir will add to your collection. Besides, you not only helped two dental students and the children in Tamil Nadu, but also contributed to the local business community. What more can you do? (We will be sending you a hand-made thank you card as well!)

Calendar of year 2017 - A special order-made calendar with landscape photographs, which we will take during our elective. It is our way to say thank you for your generous offering throughout the entire year! (Also the hand-made thank you card and souvenir!)

*All rewards will be posted by Winter 2016. Thank you in advance.

A healthy smile is a happy smile. Journey of smiles for a global improvement in oral health begins. Pledge and make someone smile today.